DO NOT REMOVE: Navigation Content Holder

You are here

Bandera

COWBOY CAPITAL

Despite its ideal location along the banks of a cypress-lined bend of the Medina River, Bandera has managed to maintain a small town cowboy charm reminiscent of its founding days in the late 1800s. The community provided staging grounds for cattle drives preparing to move up the Western Trail, one of the era’s main arteries for delivering livestock to markets in the north, branding Bandera with an authentic cowboy heritage that it continues to celebrate today. The community’s numerous historic downtown buildings, many constructed of native limestone, serve as backdrop to events commemorating the National Day of the American Cowboy, the BR Lightning Ranch Summer Buckle Series Rodeo, chuck wagon dinners, the Twin Elm Ranch Rodeo Series, “Funtier” Days with its parade and craft shows on the courthouse lawn, and country music concerts every month. Bandera’s nickname is “Cowboy Capital of the World”, a tall order requiring a taller hat but Bandera’s got it covered. The town hosts the Cowboy Capital PRCA Rodeo each May, real arena action from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, and that’s about as “pure country” as you can get.